Conveyor track section



Nov. 16, 1965 c. A. DEHNE CONVEYOR TRACK SECTION Filed Fe b. 24 1964 E-EE INVENTOR ILE=% C(ARAFA/Cf A. D'A/NE A TTORNEKS' United States Patent 3,217,658 CONVEYOR TRACK SECTION Clarence A. Dehne, Louisville, Ky., assiguor to JervisB. Webb Company, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Feb. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 346,767 4 Claims. "(Cl.-104-89) This invention relates to an improved construction for a conveyor track section of the power and free type; such a conveyor conventionally including a power track on which the trolleys, propelling chain, and pushers of the power line are mounted, and a load track for the carriers. The load track is usually suspended from the power track.

The power and load tracks are mounted above the floor of a building usually by being supported from the main beams of the building; and conveyor tracks are made in lengths which usually correspond to the span between main building beams. In cases where this span becomes relatively long-for example, twenty feet or more-it has been conventional practice to either increase the weight and size of the conveyor track members or employ some form of intermediate support for the track members in order to have a track structure sufliciently strong and rigid.

The present invention provides a power and free conveyor track section of .greatly increased strength and rigidity using a minimum amount of additional structural steel, which can be employed for long span track sections without increasing the size or thickness of the track members. The improved track structure essentially comprises the combination of an I-bearn power rail having upper and lower flanges and a web portion therebetween, a rail cap having a stem portion extending along and secured to the upper flange of the power rail in vertical alignment with the web portion thereof, slots formed at spaced intervals through the stem portion of the rail cap, a plurality of U-shaped hanger plates each having a base portion and a pair of spaced depending legs, one such hanger plate being mounted in each of the slots of the rail cap and extending transversely of the power rail with the legs of the hanger plate extending downwardly on either side of the power rail, the base portion of each hanger plate being secured as by welding to the upper flange of the power rail and to the stem of the rail cap, and a pair of channel-shaped free, rail members secured to the legs of the hanger plates in face-toface spaced relation. In this construction, the overall depth of the resulting girder track structure is increased by the rail cap, and the overall strength and rigidity is increased by the interconnection between the rail cap, power rail and hanger plates, increasing the rigidity of the latter and hence the strength and rigidity resulting from the combined interconnected power rail and free rail members.

Other features and advantages of the construction will be apparent from the following description of the presently preferred embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings which consist of the following views:

FIGURE 1, a side elevation of a power and free track section of the invention secured between a pair of main beams of a building;

FIGURE 2, a side elevation of the rail cap member;

FIGURE 3, a sectional elevation taken as indicated by the line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIGURE 4, a sectional elevation taken as indicated by the line 4-4 of FIG. 1.

In FIG. 1, I-beams and 12 shown in section at the left and right hand ends of the view represent main beams of a building or other structure in which a power and free conveyor is erected.

The track structure illustrated consists in the combination of an upper I-beam power rail 14 having upper and lower flanges 15 and 16 and a vertical web 17 therebetween. This rail provides a track for thetrolleys 18, chain 19 and pushers 20 of a conventional power line.

A T-section rail cap 22 having a stem portion 23 and an upper flange 24 is secured to the upper flange 15 of the power rail 14 with the stem portion 23 of the rail cap vertically aligned with the power rail web 17. The rail cap is preferably fabricated in two identical sections, one of which is shown in FIG. 2, each section having an increasing depth from its end 26 to its end 27 which forms the mid-point of the rail cap member when the two sections are connected together. These two sections may be conveniently cut from a single length of I-beam. A plurality of slots 28 are cut through the stem portion of the rail cap.

A plurality of U-shaped hanger plates 30 each have a base portion 31 extending across the upper flange 15 of the power rail 14 through one of the slots 28 and a pair of spaced depending legs 32 and 33.

A pair of channel-shaped free rail members 36-37 are secured to the legs of the hanger plates in face-to-face spaced relation forming a track for load carrying trolleys 38 as shown in FIG. 4.

In the construction illustrated the rail cap member 22 has a length shorter than that of the rail section. As a result the hanger plates 30 adjacent to the ends of the rail sections and to the beams 10 and 12 are merely securely welded to the upper flange 15 of the power rail 14. All other hanger plates 30 each extend through one of the slots 28 in the rail cap and are securely welded both to the stem 23 of the rail cap and to the upper flange 15 of the power rail 14 as indicated at 40 and 41 in FIG. 4.

This combination of structural members and their interconnection forms a girder-like track structure in which the overall strength and rigidity is greatly enhanced for the relatively small amount of structural material involved. This is perhaps best illustrated in FIG. 4 which shows the increased depth of the structure at approximately its mid span, and illustrates the increase in strength and rigidity obtained from the interconnection of the T-shaped rail cap, the hanger plates, the power rail and the free rails.

While preferred embodiments have been described above in detail, it will be understood that numerous modifications might be resorted to without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. Track structure for a power and free conveyor comprising the combination of (a) an I-bearn power rail having upper and lower flanges and a web portion therebetween;

(b) a rail cap having a stem portion extending along and secured to the upper flange of the power rail in alignment with the web portion thereof;

(0) slots formed at spaced intervals through the stem portion of the rail cap;

(d) a U-shaped hanger plate having a base portion and a pair of spaced depending legs, one such hanger plate being mounted in each of said slots and extending transversely of the power rail with the legs of the hanger plate extending downwardly on either side of the power rail;

(e) means securing the base portion of hanger plate to the upper flange of the power rail and to the stem of the rail cap;

(f) and a 'pair of channel shaped free rail members secured to the legs of the hanger plates in face-toface spaced relation whereby a girder-like track structure is formed having relatively great strength and rigidity for a given amount of material.

2. Track structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rail cap of clause (b) consists of a T-section member having a transverse flange at the upper end of the stem portion thereof, the rail cap member having a length less than the length of the power rail and free rails and being secured to the upper flange of the power rail so that the ends of the rail cap are substantially equally spaced from the ends of the power rail.

3. Track structure as claimed in claim 2 wherein the rail cap member has a depth which increases from a minimum at each of its ends to a maximum midway between its ends.

4. Track structure as claimed in claim 1 wherein the rail cap member comprises two equal lengths of T-section member each having a transverse flange at the upper end of the stem portion thereof, each having the stem portion thereof uniformly increasing in depth from one end to the other end, said members being joined together in end-wise abutting relation of their deeper ends.

No references cited.

MILTON BUCHLER, Primary Examiner. 

1. TRACK STRUCTURE FOR A POWER AND FREE CONVEYOR COMPRISING THE COMBINATION OF (A) AN I-BEAM POWER RAIL HAVING UPPER AND LOWER FLANGES AND A WEB PORTION THEREBETWEEN; (B) A RAIL CAP HAVING A STEM PORTION EXTENDING ALONG AND SECURED TO THE UPPER FLANGE OF THE POWER RAIL IN ALIGNMENT WITH THE WEB PORTION THEREOF; (C) SLOTS FORMED AT SPACED INTERVALS THROUGH THE STEM PORTION OF THE RAIL CAP; (D) A U-SHAPED HANGER PLATE HAVING A BASE PORTION AND A PAIR OF SPACED DEPENDING LEGS, ONE SUCH HANGER PLATE BEING MOUNTED IN EACH OF SAID SLOTS AND EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF THE POWER RAIL WITH THE LEGS OF THE HANGER PLATE EXTENDING DOWNWARDLY ON EITHER SIDE OF THE POWER RAIL; (E) MEANS SECURING THE BASE PORTION OF HANGER PLATE TO THE UPPER FLANGE OF THE POWER RAIL AND TO THE STEM OF THE RAIL CAP; (F) AND A PAIR OF CHANNEL SHAPED FREE RAIL MEMBERS SECURED TO THE LEGS OF THE HANGER PLATES IN FACE-TOFACE SPACED RELATION WHEREBY A GIRDER-LIKE TRACK STRUCTURE IS FORMED HAVING RELATIVELY GREAT STRENGTH AND RIGIDITY FOR A GIVEN AMOUNT OF MATERIAL. 